Digital music service Pandora is looking to expand its internet-radio service from next month, offering its free tier as well as two new monthly subscription options, sources told the Wall Street Journal, adding that the new offerings will mark the company’s first introduction of on-demand music streaming. Pandora is close to signing deals with major record companies that will allow it to stream in the US and new overseas markets.
While the music industry broadly supports the new paid tiers, some record-label executives are still cautious of granting Pandora permission to launch its free service in new foreign markets without the ability to control which songs they put on the free tier. Until now, the company has not had to get permission from record labels to use their music because it never let users listen to specific songs on demand. It also limited service to the US, Australia and New Zealand, countries where music licensing is automatic for internet-radio companies, as long as they pay rates mandated by federal judges or licensing collectives.
Pandora plans to roll out its new subscription tiers in the US and then in other English-speaking countries before launching elsewhere, the sources said.
